Lead Software Developer

About This Job

Location

Level

Our developers have been contributing code to major organizations and open source projects for over 25 years now. They’ve also been writing books, speaking at conferences, and helping push software development forward -- changing companies and even industries along the way.

As consultants, we work on-site with our clients to ensure we’re delivering the best possible solution. Our Lead Dev plays an important role in leading these projects to success.

Curious what makes a developer a Lead around these parts? A lead is:

Often the day-to-day primary point of contact with our clients

Able to strategically lead a project team to successful delivery

Excited to mentor, influence and lead a team of ThoughtWorkers and clients

An expert in at least one language or domain, and maybe in 2 or more

We believe that to flourish in this role, you're good at:

Technical Skills

Architecture. You should be comfortable working with your team to craft a design: choosing the appropriate technology and designing a solution that both answers the problem at hand, and stays within constraints.

Coding. Our Leads never go post-technical. We think that it’s important for technical leadership to continue to code. Our clients don’t all work in one language or platform, and neither do we. As a lead, we’re looking for a breadth of experience in a lot of languages, and expertise in one or two: Java, javascript, and Ruby are high on our list. (Other notables: Python, Scala, .NET, Clojure.) You should also be up to speed on practices like TDD, continuous integration, pairing, and infrastructure automation.

Understanding and often playing a major part in the entire cycle of software consulting and delivery, from ideation, to project conception, to UX, to code, to testing, to deployment, and around again.

Agile. We believe strongly in agile delivery practices, having implemented them for ourselves and our clients for a long time now. You should be very comfortable working with Agile, Lean and Continuous Delivery practices -- and love it as much as we do.

Soft Skills

Mentoring a team and bringing them up to speed on new languages and skills. We all learn from each other, but with the breadth of technical experience you’ll bring to the table, you’ll be an invaluable teacher to your less-experienced peers.

Thinking big and acting fast. You’ll need a startup mentality with enterprise awareness. That means you can manage competing priorities, that you’re ready to pivot or adjust plans quickly, and that you understand the role you and your team play in major organizations’ tech strategies.

Influencing priorities, for both the team and the client. You understand both the business problem and the technical solution, and you’re able to advocate for excellence and effect change when necessary.

Finesse. As consultants, we navigate within our client’s organizations to influence big decision makers and win trust. In this job, you’ll be using your people skills as much as your coding skills.

And here’s some of the perks of being part of a unique organization like ThoughtWorks.

A real commitment to “changing the face of IT” -- our way of thinking about diversity and inclusion. Over the past ten years, we’ve implemented a lot of initiatives to make ThoughtWorks a place that reflects the world around us, and to make this a welcoming home to technologists of all stripes. We’re not perfect, but we’re actively working towards true gender balance for our business and our industry, and you’ll see that diversity reflected on our project teams and in offices.

Continuous learning. You’ll be constantly exposed to new languages, frameworks and ideas from your peers and as you work on different projects -- challenging you to stay at the top of your game.

No pigeon-holing: at ThoughtWorks, there’s no applying to new roles. With time, you’ll build trust and credibility and move easily into new roles if you’re inclined, like trying out life in a QA or BA’s shoes.

Miles on miles. As consultants, we travel to the client sites every week. At first, you’ll likely travel domestically, but with time, you’ll find opportunities to travel around the world (and rack up some major points along the way.)

Support to grow as a technologist outside of your role at ThoughtWorks. This is why ThoughtWorkers have written over 100 books and can be found speaking at (and, ahem, keynoting) tech conferences all over the world. We love to learn and share knowledge, and you’ll find a community of passionate technologists eager to back your endeavors, whatever they may be. You’ll also receive financial support to attend conferences every year.

An organizational commitment to social responsibility. ThoughtWorkers challenge each other to be just a little more thoughtful about the world around us, and we believe in using our profits for good. All around the world, you’ll find ThoughtWorks supporting great causes and organizations in both official and unofficial capacities.

A few important things to know:

Travel is required. Projects are almost exclusively on customer site, so ThoughtWorkers need to be flexible and up for extensive travel. Most of our consultants travel every week and fly home for weekends. We do our best to take people’s personal situations into account, but we know it’s not for everyone.

Residing near one of our North America offices in Chicago, Dallas, New York, Atlanta or San Francisco is required. If you live elsewhere, we’ll work with you to find a home base for relocation.